The Dying Process
by thesecretsociety
Summary: How do you save a relationship when it starts to fall apart?


_So I was browsing the net for random stuff when I stumbled across this article. It's called The Dying Process. It's about the symptoms of a dying person (here's the link, in case you want to read it: /article/the-dying-process-a194088). Then, suddenly, I had this idea for a one-shot. I don't know how but I managed to find this other article (here's the link: /relationships/should-you-break-up?utm_term=25597653&utm_campaign=ml&pid=110345&utm_source=mylikes&utm_medium=cpc&v=eyJjbGlja19pZCI6IDEzOTAzMTExMDIsICJwb3N0X2lkIjogMj U1OTc2NTN9&page=1)._

_But ultimately, I wrote this because I just really miss writing (so yeah, it's too long for a one-shot). I still can't believe Poison & Wine is now over, but I'm glad I get to share another story with you guys. I just hope you like it :) NOTE: Stan is not Beca's brother here._

* * *

Chloe had been working overtime at the office for the entire week that she feels deliberately beyond relieved to park her car home by exactly twelve midnight. She climbs the front porch steps and wonders if her girlfriend is still awake. She has barely seen and talked to Beca the entire week. While she was busy working in the office, Beca spent her time producing some music at the studio by day and sometimes go out on a DJing gig at night. The only time they've been constantly together would be in her dreams and the thing is it feels so different from the reality.

As soon as she unlocks the door, the intro to the song _Every Breath You Take_ softly fills the atmosphere. For a moment, her face contorts in confusion but quickly concludes that it must be her girlfriend's doing and smiles at the thought of Beca still awake. They can have some late night talk about random things, she figures. Suddenly, instead of Sting's voice, Gary Lightbody's voice starts to sing the lyrics to _Chasing Cars_. This is a very different mash up she's working on this time, Chloe thinks. She let herself in and locks the door behind her, and to her surprise, there are rose petals everywhere on the floor along with lighted candles which creates the dimmed yellowish glow in the house. Seeing that the candles form a path, she instantly concluded that this is not exactly what she has ever thought this night would be.

"Beca?" Chloe calls out her girlfriend's name, but receives no response from the brunette. She decides that the only response she can guarantee here is the implied command to follow the path of candles. So with the mash-up song still playing on the background, Chloe slowly makes her way to the lounge then to the patio where she stops and overlooks that the candlelit path will be leading her to the garden where Beca Mitchell in her favorite flannel shirt stands on top of a heart-shaped group of rose petals. Chloe stands there for a moment trying to internalize what was happening. Then, she shoots her girlfriend a look along with this spontaneous smile growing on her lips. The brunette simply purses her lips and shrugs her shoulders.

Excitedly, Chloe descends the patio steps and hurries to her girlfriend. She automatically wraps her arm around her neck as Beca holds her by the waist, then they share a brief kiss on the lips.

"What is this?" Chloe asks, staring dreamily into the brunette's deep blue eyes.

"_Oh can't you see you belong to me?_" Beca softly sings along.

The redhead giggles and bites her lower lip, "You are such a dork."

Beca smirks at her briefly but then her face slowly turns serious. "At this point, I'm supposed to tell you something sweet and romantic, but then, you know I'm not really good with words and stuff that I might ruin such perfect moment, so… I thought I'd get straight to the point."

Chloe doesn't even have the time to respond when Beca lets go of her and goes down on one knee, pulls out a box of ring from her pocket, and looks straight up to those bright blue eyes.

"Chloe Beale, will you marry me?"

The redhead could swear that she stops breathing after her girlfriend pops out what is supposedly the easiest question to answer in her entire life. But she's been having this rough week. She's been working on this project at her office that would make or break her career. If she makes it right, she just might get promoted and that would really mean a lot.

"I love you," is all Chloe could say in a faint whisper as her eyes well up with tears, tugging Beca back to her feet.

Beca softly smiles at her and reaches to wipe the tears on her girlfriend's face. "Hey, don't cry. I'm just trying to ask you a question."

"I love you, Beca." Chloe says it again, and this time she makes sure to emphasize it even more.

"So is that a yes?"

It's not that she doesn't want to, but it simply isn't the top of her priority list right now.

"I just can't right now," Chloe blurts out, slowly shaking her head. She feels really stupid for what she just said, but she needs to be honest with Beca. Her mind is too focused on her work recently that she's just not sure about anything else. Sure, she loves Beca, and she's really happy to be with her as of the moment, but her girlfriend is way ahead of her into the future. She just couldn't match that level right now. "I'm sorry, babe. I just…"

"It's okay," Beca weakly whispers, the frown on her face half-covered by a forced smile. "It's okay, Chloe."

And it slowly kills Chloe inside as she watches the tears roll down her girlfriend's face. She knows she made them fall out of those deep blue orbs. She'd reach for her face and wipe them away, but quite frankly, that won't erase the growing pain and the scars of a lifetime that she unintentionally inflicted on Beca's chest.

Beca hurriedly wipes her tears off and shoves the box of ring back into her pocket then bravely looks up to Chloe. "I know you're tired from work. Go take some rest, babe. I'll take care of all these mess."

Before Chloe could give out a reply, Beca pecks on her cheek and proceeds with extinguishing the path of lighted candles. The music has completely died down by now and the surrounding is gradually being swallowed by the darkness. This suddenly scared Chloe to death. It makes her feel like her entire relationship with Beca is dying along with them.

* * *

_**So how do you save a relationship when it starts to fall apart? How do you revive the romance when it inescapably goes through the Dying Process?**_

* * *

**I. CHANGES IN APPETITE**

_Did you think about what I said last night?  
__Knowing you, you probably didn't.  
__I could picture your face on the other side.  
__Completely oblivious.  
__Do you really feel like this love is real?  
__I wish I could join you._

It's been two weeks since that failed proposal. Beca sits by the kitchen island sleepily rubbing her eyes awake while Chloe rushes to prepare breakfast.

"So how was your gig last night?" Chloe asks in her usual cheerful tone.

The brunette lets out a long yawn before answering her girlfriend, "I am so tired."

The redhead giggles at her before placing a plate of bacon and eggs with two pieces of pancake in front of Beca. "You are _so cute_ in the morning, babe."

And that's all it takes for the brunette to smile. She pulls Chloe closer to her and plants a small kiss on her lips. Then, she cuts off a piece of pancake and feeds her girlfriend.

"I guess we're going back to sharing a plate then."

But Chloe doesn't respond. She simply keeps her hands on Beca's shoulders massaging them lightly hoping the DJ would get the message, but it takes another two minutes for the brunette to realize what the small gesture really means. She finally lets out a sigh and gently drops the utensils.

"Of course, you need to go."

"Babe." Chloe hugs her girlfriend from behind and rests her head on her shoulder apologetically. "I'm sorry. The company needs me right now. I hope you understand."

Beca holds on to Chloe's arms. That's the thing; she tries to understand even if sometimes she really can't. Chloe has just recently been promoted, and she really loves this job. Beca can see her enjoying it unlike when she was working for that previous company. So what if Chloe's priority is her career? Beca's priority is Chloe, and so now that Chloe's happy, it only means that she has to force herself to be happy as well, at least for her girlfriend. So at times like this, all she has to do is kiss her goodbye then let her go.

(thesecretsociety)

Aubrey and Jesse have been dating for a month and they just couldn't get their hands off from each other. It isn't enough that they are cuddling in public, they really have to steal quick kisses every two minutes and say some words of endearment for one another. Unfortunately, Beca has to endure this scene for the entire lunch.

"Why do we have sit at the couch again when there are plenty of other tables where you can sit at a considerable distance from one another?" Beca shoots out.

Jesse sneers at her. "So we can cuddle, idiot."

"Yep, we don't want considerable distance," Aubrey adds before kissing her boyfriend once again.

Beca rolls her eyes and shakes her head. Alright, her friends don't have to announce to everybody that they're going to have sex right when they get back to Aubrey's apartment.

"Get a room, will ya?"

But they simply ignore her.

"Cuddle all you want now while your love is still young and sweet," she bitterly mumbles. "Two years in the future, you'd feel like shit anyway."

And that last statement catches Aubrey's attention. She immediately lets go of her boyfriend and turns to Beca abruptly, both of her hands on the table now.

"Just what do you mean by that?" she has this worried look on display.

The brunette shrugs her shoulders, "I'm just saying."

But the blonde won't let go of it yet.

"What?" Beca grunts. "Nobody stays all lovey-dovey."

"Ah, here comes the grumpy Beca again," Jesse joins in, extending his arm around his girlfriend. "You're just jealous, aren't you? If Chloe's here, God knows you two are already on your way to the restroom now to have sex."

Beca snorts at the comment and leans back to her seat.

"Where's Chloe?" Aubrey suspiciously asks.

"You're the best friend, Aubrey, you're supposed to know."

"And you're the girlfriend, Mitchell, why don't you tell me?"

And then, Beca sighs heavily. She lets her eyes fall on the table, and that's all it takes for her two friends realize what is happening. The redhead is stuck at the office. Again.

"It's Saturday," Jesse points out. "Please don't tell me she's working."

"Special meeting," Beca replies. "She's presenting whatever to the Board.

Then, she forces the same understanding smile she's been practicing ever since as she looks back at her friends who simply freeze on their seats feeling sorry for her.

(thesecretsociety)

Chloe carelessly drops her things on the table and hurries to grab her bag. She checks her phone; no call from Beca but apparently fifteen messages from Aubrey. Not a good sign, she figures. She grabs her keys and heads out. But to her dismay, the Chief Executive Officer of the company is standing right by her door.

"Stan," she breathes, not expecting the man to be in her office.

"Good, you're ready. Let's go."

The redhead throws him a look.

"I'm taking you to lunch," he casually replies.

"But-"

"I need your opinion on this new project proposal. I guess we'll talk about it over lunch."

"I'm kind of-"

"I thought you want this job, Beale." Stan looks at her authoritatively making sure he emphasizes his superiority over the redhead.

Chloe sighs heavily in defeat. Beca will understand, she convinces herself. She types a quick message to her girlfriend before quickly following after her boss.

* * *

**II. CHANGES IN MENTAL STATUS**

_I'm bored of your love  
__I'm bored of your face  
__I'm bored of your random all over the place attitude  
__I'm bored of you_

Chloe hurries to get out of her boss' car and quietly makes her way to the front door. She pulls out her keys and lets herself in the house. She notices the flashes of light coming from the living room. She drags herself to the room and finds Beca sloppily sitting on the couch and blankly staring at the television screen. It's on _Cartoon Network_ yet on mute. She figures that the brunette hasn't been paying any attention on the show at all.

"Why are you still awake?" she asks. "It's past midnight, babe."

"I'm waiting for my girlfriend," Beca quietly answers without turning to the redhead. Instead, she keeps her eyes glued on the television screen, a clear indication that she's furious about something.

Chloe lets out a sigh. "Come on, babe, let's go to bed."

But Beca only switches the television off.

"Beca," the redhead groans.

Beca abruptly stands and turns to look at her, her face filled with mockery and irritation. "You know, I'm just really curious about that project you've been doing at work 'cause if you haven't noticed, Chloe, you've been spending almost all your time in there. Not to mention your boss driving you home every night."

The redhead huffs in annoyance and shakes her head at her girlfriend's remark. "My car broke down, you know that. I haven't had the time to have it repaired. Stan's just being nice."

"Stan?" Beca lets out a chuckle. "Oh so you're on first name basis now with your boss."

Chloe raises a hand to her forehead. "Beca, stop it."

"Stop what?"

"There's no reason for you to get jealous."

"I'm just stating some observations. I'm sorry if that makes you feel guilty."

"Beca," Chloe grunts. "Come on, I'm really tired right now. This argument is pointless anyway because there's nothing to be jealous about. Can we just _please_ go to sleep?"

"Now you don't even have the fucking time to argue with me."

"We don't even need to argue in the first place!" the redhead exclaims.

The brunette raises her voice as well, "Well, I'm sorry if I feel the need to raise our problems!"

"The only problem I see here is you being unreasonably jealous!"

"No, the problem here is you!"

"Oh so now I'm the problem?"

"What happened to eating dinner together?"

"I had to work, Beca!"

The brunette screams in frustration, "Then maybe you can start forgetting about me and have a more intimate relationship with your work!"

And then Chloe stops, startled.

"That way you don't even need to come home anymore," Beca adds. She sounds calmer now but her eyes are filled with more amount of anger. "That way you can work on your stupid project for all you want without me stopping you. You don't have to get involved in this _pointless _argument, just fucking go to sleep. You don't have to fucking pretend like you still care about me at all-"

"Stop!" Chloe screams out, and this time, Beca's the one to stop. The redhead takes a deep breath feeling a tear is about to slip off her eyes. "What are you saying?"

The brunette shrugs carelessly.

"I love you," Chloe tells her as she starts crying. She looks at her girlfriend intently and exclaims frustratingly, "Beca, I love you!"

Finally, Beca's eyes soften, realizing what just happened. It's as if a bucket of cold water was splashed into her entire body. She swallows hard and begins to walk towards the redhead and envelopes her in a hug. She's just thankful enough that the other girl hugs her back.

"I'm telling you I love you," Chloe says in between sobs. "That way you don't have to be mad. You don't have to be jealous. You don't have to feel like I don't care. You don't have to make me cry like this. You just have to believe me when I say I love you because I really _really_ love you, Beca."

Beca curses herself in her head. She feels so bad that she even started such a pointless argument. She starts to rub circles on Chloe's back and says, "I believe you."

(thesecretsociety)

Chloe doesn't even remember where or when this argument started. One minute they were making out on the couch, then later on, she finds herself yelling back at Beca.

"Nobody's saying you're being childish, Beca!"

"Well, that's what you always mean anyway, right? 'Beca is so immature and silly and childish.'"

"Okay, now you're being childish."

"See? See? That's what you really think about me." Beca laughs as if her greatest theory on earth has just been proven true.

"You know what? Aubrey's right. It's always a bad idea to argue with you."

"Of course, Aubrey's always right. And I'm always the bad guy."

"What?" Chloe spats her hands on her hips. "I didn't say you're the bad guy. I was just saying-"

Beca holds up a hand on the redhead's face. "You know what? Save it, Chloe. I don't want to hear about this shit anymore."

"Of course, you leave in the middle of an argument. That's what you're always good at, Beca." Chloe watches her girlfriend gather her things and walk out the door making sure she slams it as hard as she can, thus, leaving Chloe on her own for their Movie Night.

(thesecretsociety)

Aubrey sits uncomfortably on the couch as she watches her best friend pace back and forth in front of her, ranting out in frustration. She sighs then shakes her head when everything starts to become non-sense to her already.

"I'm sorry, what's supposed to be the problem here?"

"She's being her old self again," the redhead answers. "She's being childish and obnoxious and just a complete pain in the ass."

"And what did you two argue about this time?"

Chloe quickly opens her mouth to answer but closes it immediately after a few seconds. She pauses to think about it. She doesn't know. What the hell were they arguing about?

Aubrey shakes her head disapprovingly. "You two have been arguing a lot lately, don't you think?"

The redhead can only stare back at her best friend.

"Well, this doesn't surprise me at all." And she earns a scowl from Chloe. "I mean, come on, you two have _nothing_ in common. For instance, you're serious about your work and matters that are socially relevant; she's wasting her time on partying and stuff. You're like this beacon of light, Chloe, while Beca is… you know, she's like the Queen of the Dark. It will always be a mystery to me as to why and how you even started to like each other."

"Opposites attract," Chloe argues.

"Bullshit!" the blonde exclaims. "'Opposites attract' my ass. Look at what it's gotten you, Chloe."

Chloe sighs, realizing that once again Aubrey's right. The entire relationship with Beca is completely falling apart right now.

"So what should I do?" she asks worriedly, dropping on the couch next to her best friend.

Aubrey turns to her, her face covered with apologetic appearance. "The boat is sinking, Chloe."

She waits for the redhead to protest, but she continues when no response comes from her. "Are you going to sink down with it or save yourself now that you're still in one piece?"

"I don't know," Chloe quietly shakes her head. She thinks about it for a while, just staring at nothing in particular. Then, she turns back to face her best friend when she feels like she now has the answer to the question. "I just know I love Beca… and I don't want to lose her, Aubrey."

Aubrey's lips curve into a smile. "Excellent choice, my friend."

And that's enough to make the redhead smile as well. But the moment they hug each other, when Chloe can no longer see her face, the blonde just couldn't stop the frown from invading her worried face. Chloe chose to save the boat, but Aubrey knows better. When the boat starts sinking, there's just no way that you can save it anymore.

* * *

**III. CHANGES IN CIRCULATION**

_So, I thought about what you said last night  
__Normally I probably wouldn't  
__But something you said kept me up all night  
__I tried to sleep but I just couldn't  
__I hope you still feel like this love is for real  
__'Cause I know that I do_

Jesse comes back to the bar from the restroom to see Beca's phone soaked in a glass of scotch. He turns to the woman sitting next to him, her thoughts clearly immersed in another world.

"Okay, why is your scotch decorated with your phone?" he asks. "I'm pretty sure you're not that drunk yet."

"Chloe just wouldn't stop calling and texting. It's so freaking annoying," Beca vacantly replies.

Jesse scoffs at her, "Are you two in another fight again?"

"No."

"So what the hell is this?"

Beca shrugs shoulders.

"Hey, you know you can tell me."

Still, no response.

"I'm calling Aubrey to come over if you keep on acting like shit," he finally threatens.

And she glares at him. "It's nothing."

"This doesn't look like nothing to me."

"I'm just annoyed."

He flashes this I'm-confused-so-keep-going look.

"I don't know," Beca shrugs again. "I've been feeling like that lately. It's like everything she says or does annoy me to death."

Shocked with the revelation, Jesse could only keep on staring back at her. Feeling uncomfortable with the situation, Beca orders drink after drink.

"Tell me the truth," he demands. "Are you still happy with your relationship, Beca?"

She lets out a small chuckle. "What kind of a question is that?"

"Come on, Beca, answer it."

"I love Chloe, okay?"

"That's not the question."

"What do you want me to say?"

"Tell me if you're still happy… because if not, you're screwed, man."

Beca steals a quick glance at him before staring back to the glass of scotch in front of her. She opts not to respond to Jesse's comment and drinks the alcohol in one gulp. Out of the blue, a tall brunette slides herself in between the two, making sure she brushes her body on Beca's shoulder. Beca couldn't help but look up to see the girl's pretty face. She swears she catches her throwing a wink and flirty smiles on her way.

"I'm Stacie," the taller brunette introduces herself. "I heard you're the best DJ in town. I can't wait to see you do your thing up there."

Beca simply responds with a shy smile earning her a warning look from Jesse.

Stacie leans closer and whispers on Beca's ear making the small woman shiver, "If you let me, I can do my thing _down_ _there_." She lets her eyes fall on Beca's pants before finally drawing a considerable distance from the DJ, not forgetting to put a sinister smirk on her lips.

"Alright, game over." Jesse gently pulls Stacie away from Beca, giving her a generous amount of glare. "The best DJ in town already has a girlfriend, so you can get your slutty ass out of here now, bitch."

Stacie opens her mouth to shoot something back to Jesse, but Beca immediately calls the attention of the bartender, "Give her anything she wants. Put it on my tab."

Jesse gasps at Beca's action. He shakes his head disapprovingly, but the DJ chooses to ignore him and starts chatting with the tall and sexy brunette.

(thesecretsociety)

Chloe quietly watches a drunk Beca sleeping peacefully next to her on the bed. She finds it fascinating the way her chest goes up and down as she executes a stable breathing. She can't seem to remember the last time she had the chance to watch her sleep like this. Never mind that she came home drunk. She smiles to herself and playfully traces Beca's nose line over and over.

"Babe?" she whispers, but the brunette simply responds with slurred grunts. Chloe quietly giggles at this. She rests her hand on her girlfriend's face then softly pecks her lips. "I love you."

(thesecretsociety)

"Hey, Chloe." Stan greets her at this spontaneous encounter at the movies.

"Stan," Chloe acknowledges him, he's her boss anyway. "What a pleasant surprise. What are you doing here?"

"Just a movie night with my mom," he replies. Chloe looks around, but sees no one else with him. Noticing this gesture, Stan quickly adds, "She went to the restroom."

"Sure," she nods her head and flashes a smile.

Suddenly, Beca who feels totally forgotten in the midst of the conversation clears her throat. Chloe abruptly turns to her, intertwines their hands together, and looks back to her boss. "This is Beca, by the way. She's my girlfriend." She takes a quick glance at Beca and continues, "And this is my boss, Stan. Stan, Beca. Beca, Stan."

The two simply stares blankly at each other. Nobody makes the effort of offering a handshake. Chloe looks at one person to another, but nope, they're not going to be friendly to each other.

"So what are you two going to watch?" Chloe claps her hands together as she decides to ask Stan after such an awkward pause for the three of them.

"Man of Steel," he answers, smiling again at the redhead.

"Really? Us too."

"Cool."

"Dude, are you stalking my girlfriend?" Beca blurts out earning a glare from Chloe. "What?"

The redhead immediately apologizes to the guy and excuses them both then starts pulling Beca away with her. "What were you doing back there?"

"He's stalking you and you're enjoying it," the brunette accuses.

"What?"

"Oh come on, Chloe, the guy is obviously into you."

"No," she denies. "This is just some sort of a coincidence, Beca. Come on, we're not having this argument again."

But the brunette simply rolls her eyes and turns around towards the exit.

"Where are you going?" Chloe tries to follow after her.

"I'm going somewhere I can have fun. This is stupid already."

"Beca!" she tries to stop her, but clearly there's no more turning back for the brunette. So Chloe has no choice but to let out a sigh and quickly follows her girlfriend out.

* * *

**IV. CHANGES IN BREATHING **

_I'm in love with your love  
__In love with your face  
__In love with almost everything that you say  
__Yes it's true  
__I'm in love with you_

Chloe patiently waits for Beca to respond to what she just told her on the phone. Then, she finally smiles when her girlfriend says, "I love you too. Good night, babe."

It's already past midnight when the redhead hangs up the phone. The time difference between Bali, Indonesia and Georgia, USA is killing her. Even after such a long day touring everywhere with Aubrey, she just needs to call Beca to check on her. She sighs and holds her phone to her chest. She recalls what brought her here. The thing is arguments with Beca became too often and too unbearable already at times. So Aubrey decided to pull her out for a while so she could take a break from work and from the relationship with the hope that when she returns to her life everything will be fine again. Chloe starts to wonder if it's actually going to work.

Restlessly, she hurries back to their bungalow room and wakes the very tired Aubrey up.

"Aubrey," she shakes the already asleep blonde. "Please wake up. Aubrey."

"What?" her best friend groans irritatingly.

Tears start to roll down from Chloe's eyes causing her to panic even more. "Aubrey, I'm crying now!" she exclaims.

Abruptly, the blonde sits up and pays all her attention to her. "Hey, what's wrong?"

"I don't like this," Chloe shakes her head. "I don't like what I'm feeling."

"What are you feeling, Chloe?"

"I just talked to Beca, and for the first time again, we didn't argue."

Aubrey flashes this confused look on her face, "That's good. You should be happy about that. Why are you crying then?"

"Because," the redhead pauses, hesitant of what she's about to say. "That's the thing. I don't feel happy."

Her best friend remains silent.

"I haven't seen for her days, and I'm supposed to miss her." She cries as she shakes her head once again, "But I don't. It's like I feel this contentment being away from her. And I'm not happy about that, Aubrey. It scares the hell out of me."

"Ssh,' Aubrey hugs her best friend as she starts to cry even more. Quite frankly, she's not sure what to say to comfort her. Should she lie and say that everything will be okay? "What do you want, Chloe?"

"The boat is sinking," she says as Aubrey releases her from the hug. "I want to save it so badly. But it feels like even my heart just wants to give up now."

The blonde sighs then looks back to her best friend. "Just promise me you'd choose what you think will make you happy."

Chloe nods her head in agreement but the tears just start crawling back out of her eyes so she needs to throw herself to her best friend again for another comforting hug.

(thesecretsociety)

Beca pulls the shirt off Stacie's body. She stares at it for a moment and mesmerized at how incredible it looks. The tall woman offers a flirtatious smirk before pulling Beca closer until their lips were barely touching.

"I can't believe we're doing it in your house," Stacie seductively giggles. "I thought you have a girlfr-"

Before she could finish her sentence, Beca crashes her lips into hers. She doesn't want to be reminded about her girlfriend. She doesn't want to be reminded about what she's about to do to Chloe. Right this very moment, she just wants to push her out of her mind because she needs this. Being with Chloe has made her feel like dying inside, she just needs to do this to make her feel alive once again. Maybe it's a pretty stupid idea, the worst idea in fact, but she's going to do this anyway. She finds herself unhooking Stacie's bra and she knows there's no room for regrets now.

(thesecretsociety)

Chloe sits uncomfortably on the couch of her boss' hotel room. Stan brought her here with the promise that they'll be discussing another work-related stuff. He finds a room next to her and hands her a glass of champagne.

"Um, Stan? What exactly are we going to discuss about?"

The guy chuckles at her question but doesn't give furthermore information.

Chloe carefully puts her glass on the coffee table and starts to gather her things, "I think we can discuss whatever it is in the office tomorrow."

She stands up to leave but Stan hurries to hold her in a tight grip, attacking Chloe with forced kisses at the same time. She tries to push him away, but he's just too strong. "Stop it!"

"Oh come on, Chloe, you don't have to be gay. Just let me turn you straight tonight."

"No!"

"Just hold still," he forces her lips on Chloe's. But she desperately bites him with all her might. As a reflex action, Stan releases her and holds on to his bitten lips. The redhead hurries to the door not caring whether she leaves her things behind.

"Walk out that door, Beale, and I'll fire you!" he threatens.

But she fiercely turns around and says, "You don't have to because I quit."

Chloe hurries to open the door and runs as fast as she could. Now she's filled with regrets. She's been on the wrong this whole time. Her relationship was falling apart because she just couldn't put Beca on top of her priority list. She wasted all her time in the office with that pervert when she could have spent all of them with her. But she quit the job already, and she curses herself as she realizes that she should have done this a long time ago. She should have done this way before all these and the boat should have never gone to the sinking stage in the first place. Now all she could think about is to be with Beca, take care of Beca, love Beca, just be the best girlfriend to her; quite frankly, it starts to make her feel free and happy once again. So she smiles to herself. She hails a taxi and just couldn't wait to tell her girlfriend the good news.

(thesecretsociety)

"If you need another good fuck, you know where to find me."

Before heading out for the door, Stacie looks over at Beca who responds nothing but a huff. Just when the brunette reaches for the knob, the door swings open and she meets a red-haired woman who initially is all smiles but suddenly her face contorts in confusion at the unanticipated presence of a stranger in the bedroom.

"Who are you?"

Beca turns to the door upon hearing her voice and is just equally as shocked to see her girlfriend standing right there unexpectedly. "Chloe."

Chloe turns at Beca then to the stranger then back to Beca and slowly, she starts to put the pieces together. She fights the tears from drowning her eyes and firmly shakes her head.

Beca hurries to her side before she could even make a move. "Look, I can explain."

"You have nothing to explain, Beca!"

Beca grabs her girlfriend's arm only to be brushed off.

"Chloe, come on, we can talk about this."

But the redhead turns to the unwelcomed guest and glares at her. "Really, bitch? You're just going to stay there and watch us fight?"

Stacie rolls her eyes and continues her delayed exit.

Then, Chloe looks back at Beca with anger and hurt burning all over her body. She brings her arms crossed to her chest and simply stares at the brunette. For someone who's as bright as sunshine, this is the worst thing that Chloe Beale could ever do – to not say a word and simply looks back at you, not to mention the tears silently crawling down her cheeks – and Beca could just die when she's at the receiving end of this gesture.

"Chloe," she quietly pleads but still no response from the redhead. She tries to reach for her once again but Chloe moves back as if Beca's touch would poison her to death. Now she starts to realize what kind of a mess she made. She cheated on her. She betrayed her. She screwed up big time. She looks down at her feet and says, "I'm sorry."

Still, Chloe speaks nothing.

The pain finally hits Beca on the chest and in every joint of her body as she joins the redhead in silently crying their eyes out. It's almost incredible how quiet the room is where all that could be heard are their quiet sobs and uneven breathing.

"I love you," Beca looks straight into those bright blue eyes now covered with tears.

Chloe just couldn't take it anymore. She gives her a big slap on the face and shakes her head mournfully as more tears flows out. "Don't say that. Please… It only hurts even more that the only explanation you could give me is that."

Beca remains silent. Wrong move again.

"You know what else hurts me? It's the fact that I'm not enough for you, Beca. Tell me, do I need to dye my hair black? Do I need to curl my strands just like that? Should I start acting so slutty? Do I need to change my face? Tell me! Tell me what you want me to be because I just want to be enough for you!"

"I miss you!" Beca exclaims matching the level of Chloe's screams, and all her frustration and sadness and longing and grief bursting out along with it. "I miss you so much, Chloe. And it hurts me a lot that I'm just a second placer after your work. I'm tired trying to understand your terms and conditions and I'm tired waiting for you. I've been dying inside that I needed you so much, but you're not here with me."

The redhead scoffs, harshly wiping her tears off, but such act quickly deemed useless as the tears just wouldn't stop from flowing out. She throws her hands in the air for a moment in frustration then looks to Beca.

"I know I screwed up when I turned down your proposal, but I told you I wasn't ready back then. I know I screwed up when I put my job first, but just so you know, I already quit." That last statement makes Beca's eyes glued back on those bright blue eyes, surprised by the sudden news. "I realized I wasn't happy anymore that you're so close yet so distant from me. Well, guess what, Beca? I screwed up too, many times, but that doesn't give you the right to cheat on me!"

Beca nods her head in understanding while she mentally curses herself. Cheating is indeed beyond screwing up. "I'm sorry," she mutters with much more pleading.

Chloe lets herself lean on the wall, closing her eyes, trying to drown the pain in her chest. Again, the room is filled with nothing but silence. Even for Beca, it is a torture just like that. God knows how much time passed when finally Chloe takes a deep breath and tell her, "I guess I'm tired too, Beca. I'm tired trying to save what's left of us. But maybe there's nothing left to save anyway."

Beca shakes her head in total disagreement. Alarmed, she rushes to Chloe, and this time, the redhead lets her touch her. Beca rests her forehead on Chloe's and begs her, "Don't say it. Don't even think about it."

Chloe could only avoid her eyes.

"Here," Beca reaches for Chloe's hands and directs them to slap her on the face over and over. "Slap me again. Hit me! Hurt me all you want! I definitely deserve that. Just please don't leave me, Chloe. I need you."

But Chloe moves away from her.

"Chloe," she appeals.

Chloe bites her lower lip and turn to look at Beca gloomily. "It's over, Beca."

And then the world stops spinning for Beca. She sinks down on the floor and buries her face on her palms. Any moment, Chloe will leave the room. She never wished for this moment to come but for certain, Chloe will be walking out her life in a few. And it's all because of one stupid mistake she committed.

* * *

_I wish you put effort in trying to make this new  
__(I would if you asked me, I'd do anything for you)  
__I wish we were strangers  
__(It's not like we're strangers)  
__In all the excitement we'd fall in love_

_(Guess that's it then)  
__Can I take you out just this one last time,  
__We could pretend I never met you_

You know what they said about how awkward it is when you randomly look at someone and they're already looking back at you. That's exactly what happens when Chloe, for no particular reason, turns to see Beca already staring back at her.

Aubrey nudges the girl sitting next to her. "Hey, you okay?"

"What?" the redhead quickly turns to her best friend, startled.

Aubrey follows the trace of her best friend's previous gaze and finds her new husband chatting with the one and only Beca Mitchell. Suddenly, her face frowns at the presence of the last person she'd wanted to see on her wedding day.

"I swear I have nothing to do with this. I didn't invite her, Chloe. It's all Jesse's idea. I didn't even know he invited her."

But Chloe smiles at her best friend. "It's fine, Aubrey. She's harmless."

The blonde, however, is not convinced. When someone betrays your trust by cheating on you, she'll never be harmless. Chloe might have moved on from the past but Aubrey, being the best friend, will never forgive and forget Beca's one stupid mistake.

Meanwhile, Jesse tries to talk Beca into getting out of her seat and go dancing. The brunette simply sits there half-listening to the guy while she fixes her eyes on that particular redhead.

"Are you even listening to me?" he frustratingly asks as he follows her gaze. Suddenly, his lips curve into a smirk when he realizes what his friend has been up to. "Ah, still in love with the ginger, huh?"

"What?" Beca innocently glances at him, pretending she wasn't carefully following her ex all night with her eyes.

"You know what? You've been gone for far too long, you deserve a treat from me. It's my wedding anyway." Jesse fixes his clothes as he eyes his new wife. "Chloe's going to the buffet table, follow her. I'll go ask Aubrey to dance with me so you two are free from distraction."

Beca chuckles, "First few hours of marriage and you're already calling your wife a 'distraction'."

The guy glares down at her. "Are you going to get your ass off that chair or not?"

"Okay," she sighs and slowly stands on her feet as Jesse rushes to Aubrey. She waits for Jesse and Aubrey to make their way to the dance floor before hurriedly in the most casual manner walks to the buffet table where Chloe is.

Beca mentally curses herself when she makes the realization that she's not actually prepared for this moment. In fact, she doesn't know what to say. After two years, five months, and seventeen days of not seeing nor talking to each other, what exactly do you say to the girl who broke up with you because you cheated on her? For Beca, it's a very quiet murmur of 'hi' which is quickly drowned by the loud music of Hot Chelle Rae's _I Like It Like That_ blasting through the speakers.

Suddenly, Beca has this crazy idea in her head. She takes a deep breath and casually stands next to Chloe and starts making a fruit platter for herself. Instinct compels the redhead to take a quick glance at her new company who happens to be her ex. Talk about awkward. Chloe flashes a socially-acceptable smile which Beca responds with a small nod.

"H-Hi," the brunette croaks, hurriedly clearing her throat. "I mean, hi."

The other girl couldn't help but giggle. "Hi."

"I'm Beca," she says, turning to her side as she extends a hand. "Beca Mitchell."

Chloe looks at her, puzzled by the sudden self-introduction. She eyes the extended hand and debates in her mind whether or not she should shake it. But before she could make a decision, Beca pushes it into her pocket as she scratches her head with the other.

"Do you happen to believe in the modern concept of soul mates?"

But the redhead simply shots her a WTF look.

"I mean, I don't know about you but I think we've met before." She shrugs innocently. "Probably, we had some sort of a… an unbreakable bond in our previous life. That makes us soul mates, right?"

Chloe finally speaks, "What are you doing?"

"I'm trying to introduce myself," the other replies.

"No, what the hell are you doing, Beca?"

Beca sighs then looks down at her shoes. "I know we both died from that previous relationship. I killed you, you killed me."

Suddenly, the atmosphere around them changes. One statement and then the past comes haunting them both back again.

"I'm kind of hoping we could be back to being strangers again." Beca sneaks a glance at the redhead. "I'd prefer going back to zero than start where we left off… because frankly, I don't know how to pick it up from the last time I saw you."

Chloe shrugs. "Well, it still hurts when I look at you."

"I'm not asking you to forgive and forget," the brunette shakes her head. "I just hope you would give me another chance, not the screwed up me, but the stranger me. I guess this is too much I'm asking for, but… I'm still in love with you, Chloe. So maybe if you still have a little, even the tiniest bit of loving feeling, I'd like you to meet this stranger in me."

The redhead could only stare back at her ex, pausing to internalize the entire idea she's proposing. Beca patiently waits for her to speak, however, Chloe turns to go back with making a fruit platter as if no conversation had happened between them. The brunette takes this as a cue to turn around, leave, and never come back.

"My name's Chloe," the redhead suddenly speaks prompting the brunette to stop at her track. "Best friend of the bride."

Speechless, Beca turns around to face her again, an involuntary smile growing on her lips. But Chloe urges her to play along, her face displaying this look of 'I'm doing my part, now do yours'.

"I-I…" Beca stutters as she tries to respond. "Well, that explains the Maid of Honor duties."

"Are you friends with the groom? I'm pretty sure you're not on Aubrey's side."

Beca grimace in amusement. "Yeah, the bride hates me. She'll probably strangle me to death if she finds out I'm trying to hit it off with her best friend."

"Sounds like Aubrey," the other chuckles. "But it's a wedding. Somebody has to hit it off with someone, right?"

The brunette nods in agreement when another crazy idea pops in her head. She turns to Chloe and curiously asks, "You wanna dance?"

"Aubrey's going to kill you."

"She hates me anyway," Beca shrugs. "Pissing her off would be a very good consolation on my part. You wanna help me?"

Chloe laughs at the idea comically. Then, she gives this one long look at those dark blue eyes before grabbing the brunette by the hand and pulling her to the dance floor joining the others as _Hey Soul Sister _starts to play. Of course, Aubrey's throwing invisible daggers on Beca's direction, but they choose to ignore this with Jesse trying to distract his wife (maybe that's why they're so perfect for each other; they are both distractions). Well, tonight is Beca and Chloe's renaissance. That last boat sunk deep into the sea like Titanic into the ocean floor. It's a wrecked ship forever. Nothing can ever save it now. They all went through the dying process, but there's always life after death. For a phoenix burns into ashes, it arises into an emblem of immortality. In this case, a never-ending love.

* * *

_Songs: (main) Bored of your love - Meg & Dia feat. Tom Higgenson (2) Every Car You Chase - Party Ben (3) I Like It Like That - Hot Chelle Rae (4) Hey Soul Sister - Trail_

_So there, I hope you enjoyed it :) Somehow, this one-shot gives you a clue of what my next series is about… somehow… 'Til the next story, people :)_


End file.
